ANTECEDENTS TO COLLECTIVE ACTION AMONG NON-DOMINANT GROUPS IN SINGAPORE: THE ROLE OF INGROUP IDENTIFICATION AND SHARED DISCRIMINATION

Abstract

Members of non-dominant groups often face systemic barriers and discrimination across various aspects of their lives. The current study examines the motivations that drive members of non-dominant groups to engage in collective action with another non-dominant group. Three studies tested two pathways that investigated the dispositional and situational factors in predicting collective action intention. The groups studied were women and Malays. In studies 1 (N = 190) and 2 (N = 97), ingroup identification was positively related to non-dominant group members' intention to engage in collective action with another non-dominant group. Intergroup ideology (multiculturalism) mediated this relationship. In Study 3 (N = 104), making salient experiences of shared discrimination with another non-dominant group was positively associated with collective action intention, and this relationship was mediated by empathy. Overall, this paper contributes to understanding the distinct routes to collective action taken by different groups in Singapore.